Firefighters are struggling to bring a major wildfire on Greece’s southern island of Crete under control, hampered by gale force winds that are whipping up the flames.

The blaze has been raging since Wednesday and fire crews say the conditions are creating new flare-ups, making containment efforts extremely difficult.

Authorities on Crete moved more than a thousand tourists and residents to safety as an out-of-control wildfire engulfed a forested area in the southwest of the island.